2010 Spring Training - null

Sights & Sounds

Spring Training Info

Pitching-wise they've been fine, but the defense has left plenty to be desired.

"Part of it is the Spring Training fields," Gibson said. "Like [Monday in Surprise] the places that have a hard home plate, that's a joke. We softened ours up. Still other teams have handled it just fine. We have not played good defensively."

As he has done with the pitchers, Gibson has asked more out of the defenders than has been done in the past.

"Defense, you've got to work at it," Gibson said. "You don't just go out there and stand in a hula hoop and say, 'OK hit it to me.'"

Is it possible that the changes Gibson is asking his defenders to make is giving them too much to think about and therefore effecting their play?

"I don't really care," Gibson said. "They've got to deal with it. We will pick the ball up better, trust me. We'll try everything in our power between now and Opening Day to make everybody play up to their abilities."

How will they go about doing that?

"We'll continue to hit fungoes," Gibson said. "There's various reasons [for the struggles], let's just leave it at that. We'll address it, we'll clean it up. They're better than that. I know it and they know it too."